“Twelve deaths have been reported so far (11 in El Oro state and 1 in Azuay state),” the Ecuadorian presidency said in a tweet.
Authorities reported that the earthquake was recorded at 12:12 a.m. local time (5:12 p.m. GMT) and that its epicenter was in Ecuador’s Balao municipality, about 140 kilometers from the port of Guayaquil and at a depth of 44 kilometers.
This was felt strongly in the south of the country, with walls collapsing in cities like Cuenca, one of the hardest hit, as people took to the streets in panic.
Magaly Escandón, a seamstress in this Andean town, told AFP: “I took to the streets because I saw people get out of cars and run away in fear.”
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the magnitude of the event was 6.8.
According to users on social networks, the movement was also strongly felt in other cities such as Quito, Manabí and Manta.
Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso called for “calm and information through official channels” in a Twitter post.
At a lower intensity, the Peru earthquake has so far recorded no casualties or significant damage.
twice a year
Collapsed buildings, collapsed walls, vehicles under rubble. Some old houses in Cuenca’s historic center have been damaged, AFP reporters reported.
“This is a relatively high power for what we have in our country. In the Gulf of Guayaquil area, we have had about two earthquakes since 2017 with magnitudes greater than 5.0,” Mario Ruiz, director of the Ecuadorian Geophysical Institute, told Radio FM Mundo in an interview.
According to the Ecuadorian Risk Management Secretariat, the facade of a house in Cuenca collapsed on top of a vehicle and “one person was killed”. Recently, three people were killed in the collapse of a tower in the state of El Oro.
The seismic wave was also felt on Peru’s northern and central coasts, although less intensely.
Seismological authorities in that country reported a magnitude of 7.0 at the time of the earthquake, but hours later the value was revised to a magnitude of 6.7.
Hernando Tavera, head of Peru’s National Center of Seismology, assured RPP radio that there was “no significant damage to buildings or people” in this country.
A magnitude 4.8 aftershock was registered in Balao, Ecuador.
The Ecuadorian Navy’s Institute of Oceanography and Antarctica argued that the Pacific quake “did not meet the conditions necessary to trigger the tsunami.”
Source: Ultimahora
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Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
